Challenging the Silicon Valley Belief in the Necessity of Venture Capital

I would argue that there is a widely held belief among entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley that you can't build a successful company without venture capital money.  However, the average company in Silicon Valley or the rest of the United States never receives an investment of venture capital.  Are the companies launched without an investment of venture capital more prone to failure?  No, most companies fail in their first few years of business, regardless of whether or not they received venture capital money. Venture capital money just pushes the stakes a lot higher and changes the dynamics of how you build the business, but it is no guarantee of success and can actually be a guaranty of failure if the business is not sufficiently scalable.  This article in Forbes by a serial entrepreneur makes an excellent argument that entrepreneurs should maintain some perspective on the value of venture capital to building their business:

Stop Chasing Venture Capital and Start Bootstrapping a Profitable Business